10 Yuli Gurriel 1B

Gurriel went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in Friday's 4-2 loss to Arizona.

Gurriel singled with the bases loaded in the first inning to drive in Houston's first run and helped erase an early 2-0 deficit. Seeing Gurriel hit with runners in scoring position is no surprise. His .392 batting average ranks third among batters with at least 100 plate appearances with RISP. He was recently moved into the cleanup spot to replace the slumping Carlos Correa, so opportunities could be plentiful for Gurriel hitting behind Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.

Gurriel is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel will head to the bench Saturday after going 1-for-13 over the past four games. Marwin Gonzalez will start at first base for the Astros with Tony Kemp taking over in left field.

Gurriel went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Sunday against the Athletics.

Gurriel took Sean Manaea deep in the third inning for his eighth home run of the season. Since bringing his average up to a season-best .310 mark on July 15, he has just nine RBI and 11 runs scored and is now batting .280. Though he's not known for his power production, he had also gone over a month without a home run prior to going deep on Wednesday against the Rockies. However, Gurriel has recorded at least one hit in six of his last seven games -- including four extra-base hits -- so he is showing signs of breaking out of this prolonged slump.

Gurriel is out of the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel was well overdue for a day off after starting the Astros' past 19 games and submitting a .231/.241/.256 batting line over that span. He'll be replaced at first base Sunday by Tyler White, who will bat fifth.

Gurriel will start at second base and bat third Sunday against the Rangers.

Gurriel will make his first career start and second career appearance at the keystone in place of Jose Altuve (knee), who was placed on the 10-day disabled list Sunday. The Astros had planned to experiment with Gurriel as a utilityman in spring training, but those plans were temporarily tabled after he required surgery on his left hand. Now healthy and with the Astros now down two key regulars in Altuve and Carlos Correa (back), Gurriel will learn the new position on the fly, though the 34-year-old won't necessarily be asked to take on a full-time role at second base. According to Christian Boutwell of MLB.com, manager A.J. Hinch also listed Marwin Gonzalez, Alex Bregman, Tony Kemp and Tyler White as options at the position.